


A Charming Afternoon

by akamarykate



Category: Austenland - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 12:12:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2850440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akamarykate/pseuds/akamarykate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane is rescued from tedium by an unlikely new friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Charming Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skogkatt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skogkatt/gifts).



Jane sat in a tasteful window seat in the tasteful drawing room of the tasteful manor, stabbing a needle into fabric. Distastefully. Three days into her adventure at Austenland, she wondered how she was going to fill the days of her vacation, especially if they all ended up as dreary and rainy as this one. It certainly wasn't going to be with needlework. Somehow, all this stabbing and pulling was meant to produce something artful, to be an expression of the female creativity that had been stifled in the Regency era. Jane thought perhaps in her hands the tangling threads and stabbing needle were expressing boredom, frustration, and disappointment. Her flowers were faded in the dim light of the drawing room and, when she held her hoop at arm's length and squinted, more Cubist than Regency.

The only good thing about sitting here was the excellent, if somewhat misty, view of a small lake. A few white dots were probably ducks or swans. Right now Jane figured there was zero chance of seeing a half-dressed, soaking wet Mr. Darcy--or even Martin--come striding out of the water. 

She was just wondering if Mrs. Wattlesbrook would object to a textile rendition of a Hieronymus Bosch painting when Miss Elizabeth Charming wandered into the room, humming something decidedly not-Regency under her breath. Jane wasn't one hundred percent sure, but she thought it sounded like something from the Dolly Parton oeuvre. 

Miss Charming didn't notice Jane tucked into her window seat. Instead, she held her hands behind her back and swished her skirt back and forth while she read book spines from the fully stocked shelves. "Would it kill her to have a few mysteries lying around?" she muttered. "Something with a cat, or a bakery, or--"

Jane cleared her throat.

"Oh!" Miss Charming spun around, skirts swishing; her southern accent switched to the affected movie-British one she'd been using since they'd arrived four days ago. "Why, Miss Erstwhile, I do declare! I had no idea you were here."

"Sorry." Jane tossed the embroidery to the side and stood, stretching her back. "I hope I didn't startle you, but I have to say, I'm awfully glad you came in. It's so grey outside and my embroidery is--" She gestured back at the bench. "--rather useless, I'm afraid."

Miss Charming nodded. "There's not a whole lot to _do_ while the men are gone, is there?"

Jane darted a glance at the tops of the bookshelves; she half-expected Wattlesbrook to have cameras planted up there to spy on her guests. But any punishment the woman could dole out would probably involve needlework, so it wasn't as if Jane had anything to lose. "I thought this would be...well, more like a vacation. More exciting and colorful--"

Miss Charming nodded vigorously, nearly dislodging her feathery headpiece. "More romantic! Certainly more like the movies." She heaved a sigh from the depths of her bosom. "Looks like us girls have to fend for ourselves. What do you propose?"

Jane spotted a deck of cards left out from last night's after dinner entertainment. "I suppose we could play cards, though we'd need partners for Whist. Did they play Go Fish in the early 1800s?"

Miss Charming's eyes lit up. She looked over her shoulder to the open door. "I have a better idea."

Half an hour later, Jane had been introduced to the intricacies of Stud Horse Poker. She wasn't entirely sure of the rules and half suspected Miss Charming of making the game up as they went along, but it was more fun than she'd had in days.

"I don't suppose they bet with embroidery floss back in the old days." Jane tossed a skein of cobalt into the pile in the middle of the table. If Waddlesbrook came in now, they were sunk for sure. The feeling was vaguely delicious.

"Maybe not, but it seems like in the movies they did. If I were in charge, it'd be more like that. More dances and shooting and society teas and--" She fanned herself with her hand of cards and winked broadly. "--horseback riding."

"Mmmm," Jane said dreamily. Chin on her fist, she stared out at the lake. "And men climbing out of the water with their shirts clinging to their chests."

Miss Charming turned her card fan on Jane. "You too, honey?"

Jane nodded a bit reluctantly; after all, she was supposed to be the bookish one. Even to Miss Charming, it was hard to confess how that one moment had shaped so much of her world view.

"I tell you what. If I ran this place, that would happen every day. Hottest guy in the group would have that duty. Every afternoon at one o'clock. Just like they do at Yellowstone with Old Faithful. Bam-bam-bam." She started humming "It's Raining Men," but before Jane could answer, an outside door banged open and Mrs. Waddlesbrook's sure, firm footsteps could be heard in the hall. Jane swept the skeins of thread into her lap and tossed them at the window seat; Miss Charming gathered all the cards into a neat pile and stood, holding out her arm to Jane.

"Why my _dear_ Mrs. Waddlesbrook," she cooed as the matron entered the room and swept it with a glare. "Miss Erstwhile and I were just about to take a stroll in the portrait gallery." They hustled out of the room, Jane hiding her grin in a coughing fit. 

"I tell you what else," Miss Charming said when they were out of Waddlesbrook's range. "If I ran this place, all these portraits would be gone. I'd get a _good_ artist to paint every Mr. Darcy who's ever graced the screen in life-size, yummy goodness." She ducked her head close to Jane's. "Clinging shirts and all."

"Miss Charming," Jane said fondly, "if you ran this place, I would be here every day to see it."


End file.
